Ahead of an 11PM Eastern promise, Microsoft has posted the Windows 8 Developer Preview. Intel/AMD based 32-bit (ISO) and 64-bit (ISO) editions are on tap, with an ARM version understandably left out given the lack of hardware. The developer center is also now active with more details.
In releasing the developer-focused version, Microsoft also confirmed that Windows 8 would have unusually low requirements. The OS needs a single-core 1GHz x86 processor and just 1GB of RAM for 32-bit installs and 2GB for 64-bit. Space limits are also similar to Windows 7, Microsoft says: at least 16GB is needed for 32-bit, with the larger code size pushing 64-bit up to 20GB. Its toughest requirement is at least DirectX 9-capable graphics.
Using the tiled Metro interface demands at least a 1024×768 display and ideally runs on a 1366×768 or higher multi-touch display.
As a developer-focused preview, the OS doesn’t have activation requirements but also isn’t recommended for use on a vital production system.
